Apparatus for detaching and removing a sheet from an upwardly traveling ribbon of glass



PYE ET AL 2 sums-SHEET 1 Inventors r! III/Ir rrrlr/r v1/1!!! I! I I! A ttorneys Fatentecl Feb. 17, 1953 APPARATUS FORLDETACHING AND REMOV- ING A SHEET FROM AN UPWARDLY TRAV- ELING RIBBON OF GLAS S George Telford Pye, Prescot, and Harold Goulbourne Jones, Saint Helens, England, assignors to Pilkington Brothers Limited, Liverpool, England, a British company Application May 5, 1948, Serial No. 25,228 In Great Britain February 17, 1948 8 Claims.

This invention rel-ates to apparatus for drawing glass upwardly from a body of molten glass.

In such apparatus sheets of glass, of predetermined size are usually cut from the leadin free end of the upwardly travelling ribbon of glass by transversely scoring the glass at the pre determined distance from the leading edge, the glass is scored by a cutter automatically set in motion by the leading edge actuating a control switch disposed so that the cutter always actuates when the leading edge has travelled the aforesaid predetermined distance from the path of the cutter.

-After the cutter has made a score line operatives grip the sheet at each side, tilt it slightly towards them, thereby breaking off the sheet at the score line and take it away. Unless the sheet is removed so as to clear the upwardly moving leading edge just created, the leading edge is chipped or shelled. As the glass is hot when so removed it is difficult to handle. In- Stead of a cutter a hot wire is sometimes used to prepare the glass for severing.

The main object of the present invention is to provide means for mechanically removing the glass above a score line of severance in such manner as to avoid shelling of the edge of the severed sheets, and in a more expeditious manner than is achieved by man-handling the sheet.

Another main "object is to provide automatic control of the mechanical removing means whereby it is advanced to engage the glass in synchronism with the operation of the scoring device, or other means for preparing the glass for severing, for example the hot wire, and is only retracted when the removing means has securely gripped the sheet.

In carrying out the present invention suckers, operated by means sensitive to the arrival of the-leading edgeof a drawn ribbon of glass at a point near the end of its travel, are brought into engagement with the glass above the score line, and then at the beginning of the rearward movementof the suckers by which'a' pull is impressed on the glass to sever itat the score line, I

modifying their movements so as to bodily lift the sheet securely held by the suckers, clear of the rising leading edge. The suckers are mounted on transporting means so that the glass may be rapidly moved from the plane of the rising ribbon of glass to a dumping table on which it is cooled.

Apparatus for upwardly drawing a sheet of flat glass from a body of molten glass construct- .ed according to. the present invention is characterised by the combination with means for producing a line of severance e. g. a score line transversely of the glass at a predetermined distance from the leading edge, of rockable suctionmeans mounted to be advanced to engage the sheet with suckers above the intended line of severance and to be retracted from the path of the rising sheet as soon as the suckers have gripped the sheet, and means for constraining the suckers to move up,- wardly as they commence to retract, whereby the glass above the line of severance is severed from and then lifted clear of the rising leading edge created at the score line of severance.

The apparatus preferably comprises a trackway, supported above the leading edge of the glass when the latter is disposed at the top of its travel, a carriage on the trackway, means for forwardly moving the carriage to the glass and for retracting the carriage away from the sheet,

a support depending from the carriage, a rocker I horizontally pivoted on said support, suckers on the said rocker to engage the glass when the carriage is advanced, a horizontally pivoted arm mounted below said carriage, a rigid link pivoted to said arm and said rocker (so that the arm is lowered about its pivot as the suckers engage the rising glass), and a ramp below said trackway, having a profile and so disposed as to further depress the arm as the carriage commences to retract with the severed sheet at such a speed as to maintain the severed sheet clear of the rising sheet.

In order that the carriage may be automatically moved forwardly to the glass and retracted therefrom so that the glass above the score line is removed after the formation of the score line the apparatus preferably comprises an electric motor, means driven by said motor for moving the carriage in each direction, a switch controlling the motor forward circuit, disposed to be actuated by the leading edge of the glass as it approaches the end of its travel, a cock control- "ling the vacuum line disposed to be actuted by the carriage in each direction of travel, a pressure operated switch in the vacuum line adapted to close the motor retracting circuit after the suckers have engaged the glass and a suflicient partial vacuum is developed to assure the suckers holding the glass, and limit switches actuated by the carriage towards the end of each forward and retracting movement to open the respective motor circuit.

If the length of the excursions of the carriage permit, the switch controlling the motor circuit iotuersides-man s;

3 may be the switch which causes the operation of a scoring device, but where the time interval does not permit, a separate switch, operated by the leading edge. ofitheglass, is employed. The pressure" operated switch is provided to accommodate the variations in the time the suckers take to grip the sheet and thereby the retractin circuit is only closed when the sheet is properly ri p d- 1 In order that the invention may be more clearly understood a preferred embodiment will now be described by way pres-ample, ference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of apparatus in elevation according to the invention,

and a a 1 Figure 2 is a diagram of the electrical connections used in the apparatus of Figure l.

Figure 3.shws in side elevation to, an enlarged scalelthejffneansjor mountingthe suckers.

Jeremie 1 4 Lisrjalplah of the construction shown 'iifFigureISmbut'tojarevised scale; o y

fi p. th s, ,remb iment n. Warh k rrl 'ii's 'ov ed -;Whih runs P endi iieny JiQQtheglass 2 as itapproache's the latter, an n 'v 'w di nip an 'a d'ionfihe ckw y. l is a which; depends, between the A onvv ichthe suckers ,Bare

..'.a supp 's is at one endm'ounted on: Iahorizontal pivot 9 carried by the support c; and the other 'end. of

. thejjarm is connected by 1 a rigid link In to the .rPQkerS "the, norm l disposition 'oftnea m a bing "in horizo talflpl'ane and-the link being no vvn form of switchactuated 'aphr' eml r t n. o ieisi oltheatm s c while th i 'tic al' ribbon of glass 2 the sucker rockers ntgnsequgnceiof.the n agemm of the suck- I, iththej ingbglassftiltfupwardly into a h riz ntal'disposrtionjtherby lowering the arm .18 ati'ftheltopf'of'the support belo'wits' normal Qcam 'lltisheitnlgre uyienlarg d) "which stands mgfollower' 41 In the for- T s ,7 c rm p es'th ff am 14 re engaging oj the glass by the suckers and h be f n i pfil g th a "is su "during" this "return 'movement'- the ramp M Zengagedby them, also raise the glassi'shet Ti ker b t rr e n aiih fs e we e i s er- "i'ng" 'o'fi't hesh'e'et', and maintain the severed'sheet grammatically F l'E i EQV: I ly rqpgh'pre jsureio elratedswitq llz. .to'th lv uuml inei 1.

itiilthejacuumlinepressure. With such a -con'st'ruction, when the'carriage 3 is advanced until the suckers engage relay means indicateddati Eliot, clo

catdf'at 23 "fpr" massage motor causing'forward theswitch was assthereby develop the necessary partial vacuum in the linef[$, ar' jdfduring the return movement of the'carfri'agfe to, destroy the partial vacuum. A

"bleed h'ole I5ais provided on the trip cock l5 so -uthat the sheet 2 is slowly released from the suckers 5 when over the dumping table as will be .well understood in the art.

The carriage is mounted on an endless chain it, the driving sprocket ll of which is connectedto a'motorjmgand thei circuit [9. (Figure 2) of the motor "which "enforces "forward movement of "the carriage. and "is herein referred to as the forward circuit, is completed by-asvvitch 20 disposed 'acr'o'ss theiplaneiof the itisingribbon of glass, so that whenth'e' leading edge has: arrived at"a predeterniined point, 'therswitchjis op erate'd to close th'e'tforward ,pircuit and advance the "carriage "so that the suckers ijengage I the glass, at :a time'whenf'a score line will-havebeen formed onthe glass; the scoring device. being-actuated by "a': switch (not shown) also actuatedby the leading edge of the glass in knownqman-ner. When'the carriageitthascompletedits forward movement, 'Lthe isuckers '5 having, :engaged -the glass 2, 'a partial 'vacuumfis developed; the pressure operated switch; I Ziuntil Lthe suction is sufficient for thexsuckcrs to hold rthe--;g1a$s,;and this pressure operated; switch #is conneptedfwith f g:the;mgtor circuit 'when the required partial :vacuum is de .veloped which. causes the;return;movement of V mounted on the carriage}, and disposed at each end of t'he path,-0ia, theimovems of. t riage are limitswitch s 25. and {2.6. wh qhpno mally te d. oicl se e r i seau ns th mov ment of the earn st,s it atwh nz he car i e is. beingmove .,f wars ;t a trs t 2 :11am" the, rising; ribbon of glass is ZOPBIIatBd' to open the forward; circuit; [9 asjsoorijas the suckers} are .sufiiciently advanced to: engage the g1a'ss-:2 an'd'at stheroth'ei' en'd ofthe'tra'ckway I" thelim'it switch 2 5 determines "the e'ridof the 'return'mov'ement of the carriage byopeni circuit 21-, 'relayrn'eaiis'"bin Byintieau'eiia "thef |2 control of the retracting circui "i ha j q iq i emsl t s ei i, or: .1

' terval is a variable: quantity,

From" the foregoing. "it will be observedtthat apparatus ac cordingfto' the inventiorf'comprises suckers 5 mounted on the carriage 3, the excursions of which are under the control of the'leading edge of glass and the pressure operated switch I2 so as to permit the suckers 5 to remove glass above a score line after the score line has been formed. I

The suckers may engage the glass immediately after the formation of the score line or during the formation of the score line, or immediately before the formation of the score line.

By the present invention expeditious manipuiation of the hot cut off sheet of glass is attainable, and by reason of the manner of removing the glass from the path of rising ribbon, shelling of both the trailing edge of the severed sheet and the leading edge of the rising sheet is eliminated, and moreover as the carriage arrives at the position in its return journey to operate the trip cock and cut off suction, the suckers may become disposed over a trackway on which runs a dumping table 2a so that the glass is received from the suckers and rapidly removed from the path of movement'of the suckers to and from the glass.

Alternatively the glass may be removed by hand from the suckers when the partial vacuum is destroyed, and fans (not shown) may be disposed at the side of the path of the movement of the glass when held by the suckers so as to cool the glass before it is so handled.

The depending support may comprise a post 4 depending rigidly from the carriage 3 and carrying at the lower end a tubular bearing 39 which receives a horizontal spindle I connected to the rockers on which the suckers, preferably three in horizontal alignment are carried, the spindle accordingly constituting the axis member for the rockers.

The rockers preferably comprise two parallel arms spaced apart but connected by a carrier 3! for the suckers at one end and by a rod 32 at the other for attachment of the link I0. The carrier is rotatably mounted in bearings 3 la at the ends of the arms, and on the outside thereof at each end, and at the middle a sucker is mounted, and to each side of the middle sucker a pair of levers 33 are individually clamped to the carrier, the levers at their ends carrying weights 35 and straddling a limit member constituted by a cross bar 35 connecting the rocker arms.

In such arrangement the carrier extends from each side of the rocker to carry the outer suckers. The vacuum line between the vacuum operated switch l2 and the suckers 5 comprises the connection H between the switch [2 and a pipe 36 mounted transversely of the rockers 6. The pipe 36 is in turn provided with branch pipes 31, one on each end of the pipe 36 and one in the middle, lying parallelly with the rockers. Each of the branches 3? are connected through theintermediary of a length of flexible tubing Ila to one of the suckers, that is to say, the outer branches 31 are connected to the outer suckers and the middle branch to the middle sucker. This arrangement is most clearly shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. The transverse pipe 35 carries the gauge 38. The gauge is employed when setting the adjustable operating point of the pressure operated switch, so that the switch closes at a partial vacuum which experience has shown to be sufiicient to hold the glass and yet insufficient to break the glass by bending at the area to which the suction is applied. When the carriage is hand actuated the operator may watch the gauge to see that the partial vacuum developed is sufficient to assure that the suckers efiiciently grip the glass before the carriage commences to return.

We claim:

1. Means for detaching and removing a'sheet of fiat glass from'an upwardly travelling ribbon of glass provided with lines of severance at predetermined intervals, the means comprising rockable suction means mounted to be advanced to engage the sheet with suckers above the intended line of severance and to be retracted from the path of the rising sheet as soon as thesuckers havev gripped the sheet, a cam follower operatively connected to the suckers and cam means in the path of the cam follower to act on the cam follower and thereby constrain the sucka ers to move upwardly as they commence to retract, whereby the glass'above theline of severance is severed from and then lifted clear of the rising leading edge created at the line of -severance.

angles to the path of the sheet, a carriage on thetrackway, means for forwardly moving the car-- riage to the sheet and forretracting'the carriage from the sheet, a support depending from thecarriage, a rocker horizontally pivoted on said support, suckers on said rocker to engage the sheet when the carriage is advanced, a horizontally pivoted arm mounted below said carriage, a rigid link pivoted to said arm and said rocker so that said arm is lowere'dabout its pivot as the suckers engage the rising sheet,-and a ramp below said trackway in the return path of said arm and having a profile and being so disposed that as the carriage commences to retract with the severed sheet the said arm is depressed further at such speed as to maintain the severed sheet'clear of the rising sheet.

3. Means for detaching and removing a sheet of fiat glass from an upwardly travelling ribbon of glass provided with lines of severance at predetermined intervals, the means comprising a trackway supported above the leading edge of the sheet, said trackway being disposed at right angles to the path of the sheet, a carriage on the trackway, an electric motor, means driven by the said electric motor for moving the carriage forwardly to the sheet and for retracting the carriage from the sheet, an electric circuit controlling the forward movement of the carriage, a switch in the said circuit so disposed as to be actuated by the leading edge of the said sheet as it approaches the end of its travel, a second circuit for controlling the retractive movement of the carriage, a limit switch in each of the said circuits actuated by movement of the carriage as it reaches the end of each movement, a support depending from the carriage, a rocker horizontally pivoted on said support, suckers carried by the said rocker to engage the sheet when the carriage is advanced, a vacuum line to said suckers, a cock controlling connection of vacuum to the said line disposed so as to be actuated to open by the forward movement of the carriage and to close by the retractive movement of the carriage, a horizontally pivoted arm mounted below said carriage, a rigid link pivoted to said arm and said rocker whereby said arm is lowered about its pivot as the suckers engage the sheet, a ramp below said trackw-ay in the path of said 2. Means for detaching and'removing a sheetof fiat glass from an upwardly travelling ribbon. of glass provided with lines of severance at pre-- determined intervals, the means comprising" a trackway supported abovethe leadingedge of? the sheet, said trackway being disposed at right 7 arm having a profile such that the said arm is depressed further and at such speed as tom aim tain the severed sheet clear of the rising sheet of glass asthe carriage commences to retract with the severed sheet of glass, a pressure oper= ated switch in the said. vacuum line adapted to close the said second circuit and initiate the re,- tractive movement of said carriagev after the suckers have engaged the sheet and sufijcient partial vacuum has developed therein for the suckers to hold the sheet.

4. Means according to, claim 3 wherein the said rocker comprisesparallel arms carrying in bearings a horizontal supporton which the said sucke ers are mounted, the, said horizontal support being capable of limited turning movement in the bearings to allow'the suckers to, accommodate themselves tothe sheet of glass,

5. Means for detaching and remevinga sheet of flat glass from an upwardly travelling ribbon f ass p vi d wi lines of seve ance-at pr d rm int r a th means c mprising; a a ay up ort d, abo the ead ng edge cf $1 66 a ge n fi id traclsway, rctkable su t m a om r Sucker c rried b 'd d nsm sai c ria e, a vacuum i to h k s! am fo lo e operat velr co netted to h suc rs, ra t ve means-to ad a e the carriage to'engage the sheet with the suckers a o e lin of se nce a d. to re rac t e can r ns as $0 1,; s e sucker a e e ged an ip ed e h t of g ass am m a s. t ch d to the trackway to engage the cam iollower and thereby cause the suckers to move upwardly as a e omm nc s to et ac v wher y th sheet abcve he ne of se ra ce is se ered, r m an then lifted clearof the rising leading edge formed at the'line of; severance 6- Means according; to claim herein t e sa d s icker ar cqnnec d'to s id va uum in by way of a trip cock which is supported hy" the trackway and is arranged with the trip cock in the path of the said carriage sq; that it is qlpsed n h re ac on of; e a ri e a Q n d. n; e f r vem nt o t e carriage.

Means a c di g oc a m. 5 h ein the m t m ans c mp i s an e ect c motor onerativelr c nn t d o s d carriage. said motor se eprc ed wi h a f r ard, ontr c rcuit o ni e o ard mqv m nt f the carr a e. and a a t ng con nl c rcui g rning th retracting movement of the carriage, a switch responsive to movement of the leading edge of the sheet to close the forward control circuit and a limit switch responsive to movement of the carriage to open the forward control circuit, a pressure operated switch in the vacuum line of the suckers operating to close the retracting control circuit when sufficiently low pressure is developed in the said line for the suckers to grip the sheet and a limit switch responsive to movement of the carriage to open the retracting control circuit.

8. Means for detachin and removing a sheet of fiat glass from an upwardly travelling ribbon of glass provided with lines of severance at predetermined intervals, the means comprising suckers to engage the sheet, a cam follower cpera tivelyconnected to the suckers, a carrier for the said suckers, tractive' means operable in one direction to move the carrier and suckers to en gagethe sheet above a line of severance, a vacuum line connected to the said suckers, a. cock in the vacuum line arranged to be opened by the forward movement of the said carrier so that the pressure in the suckers on engaging the sheet is reduced to cause the suckers to hold the glass, said tractive means operable in a reverse direction to retract the carrier when the suckers have engaged and held the sheet and cam means in the path of thegcam follower to displace the cam follower whereby to raise the suckers at the beginning of the retracting movement whereby to lift the severed sheet of glass clear of the rising edge of the ribbon of glass.

GEORGE TEIFORD. PYE. HAROLD GOULBOURNEI JONES.

REFERENCES CETE D The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,741,026 Koupal et al Deal 24, 1929 1,905,748 Redshaw Apr. 25, 1933 1,922,327 Redshaw Aug. 15, 1933 1,931,700 Murphy et a1. Oct. 2.4, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 881,834 France May 10, 1943 

